Never Gone
by RoseGad
Summary: Set three years after Forever in my Heart. Alexis has told herself that she had moved on...until someone unexpected shows up at a party that Rad invites her to. Part 2 of the Heart trilogy.


I was liking the responses I have gotten from "Forever in my Heart", so I wrote an abrupt sequel. Oh yeah, and I don't own TF: Armada nor any of the characters mentioned herein, but the plot is mine.

Like everyone who has lost someone there is a healing process. For some, it takes days, but for others, it can take years.

==

Set Three Years after "Forever in my Heart"

Third person POV

Alexis paused for a moment in packing her things for her first year of college. She was leaving the place that she had grown up for the first time outside of a vacation, and she momentarily felt a wave of sadness as her right hand grasped the green stone she had gotten on Cybertron. 

_Get over it. Starscream's gone, and he's never coming back._ A now very familiar voice in her head chided. Alexis had changed in those three years. Her hair now fell a couple inches past the base of her neck when she was not wearing it up in a pony tail, a custom she had taken up recently. Her eyes, once having known happiness, now smiled on rare occasions, those occasions were few and far between nowadays. 

_How do I say goodbye to what we had?  
The good times that made us laugh  
Outweigh the bad.  
I thought we'd get to see forever  
But forever's gone away  
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday._

Rad, soon after the Autobots left Earth, had taken an intense interest in computer programming, while Carlos had taken up radio communications as a side hobby. Even though they did not admit it, call it a girl's intuition but she knew that they were trying to establish a radio connection to Cybertron, and appreciated their steadfast efforts to communicate with their friends. Billy had died in a car accident with a drunk driver one summer evening about six months after the Autobots left, and Fred has never been the same since. Alexis meanwhile, to distract herself from the pain that came with the wanting to everyday be able to see Starscream, had taken up painting. She painted many things, often depending on her mood while she painted…from a serene meadow, to a violent thunderstorm, to Starscream himself, on the first year anniversary of his death.

_I don't know where this road  
Is going to lead.  
All I know is where we've been  
And what we've been through.  
If we get to see tomorrow  
I hope it's worth all the wait  
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday._

She looked down at the suitcase of clothing she had just finished packing. Shoving it aside, she put down the necklace that held the peculiar green stone from Cybertron, and noticed something. When she first examined it after the crack, she noticed that the crack was very deep and very near to splitting the stone in two. But now, it was as if the crack had slowly started to heal itself.

_And I'll take with me the memories  
To be my sunshine after the rain  
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday._

Her cell phone rang, jerking her out of her momentary reverie.  Picking it up, she heard Rad's voice on the other end.

"Hey Alexis, I know you're packing and everything, but we're having a party at my place starting at five o'clock tonight. Just me and the gang, but it won't be complete without you, and someone else here who's been wanting to meet you. You want to come?" he said softly, his voice hinting at concern for his only female friend.

Alexis felt a hint of a smile on her face. Out of everyone she had stayed friends with over the past three years, only Rad knew exactly what to say to make her feel a little better. 

"Certainly."  And with that, Alexis stopped packing and started to get ready for tonight's party. After dressing in a pair of dark blue capris, and a light green t-shirt, she wore the necklace from Cybertron underneath her outfit. It felt cold against her warm body, and she shivered involuntarily.

--

Alexis stared apprehensively up at Rad's house as she pulled up on her bicycle. She had been there many times before, but why was she so nervous? 

Standing there on the steps leading to the doorway of the front door, she could have sworn that she felt the green stone grow warm, almost hot, but only for a brief second before it went back to being well, stone cold. 

Stepping inside, she noticed that Carlos, Rad and Fred were in deep conversation with one another, the pizza that they had ordered (everything but anchovies) had gone cold without their notice. But there was someone else there that caught her eye.

He was standing apart from the crowd and watching her rather fixedly, ignoring all else that was going on. He had ear length dark grey hair which was parted down to the side, and intense light blue eyes. His shirt dark blue, with one yellow spot in the middle, and his pants were a light grey. The stone in her necklace grew warm again, but this time, stayed warm. A revelation came to Alexis' healed heart.

He opened his mouth to speak, but he did not need to say a word. She knew who it was standing before her, and, before she could stop herself, she hugged him tightly, with tears running down her cheeks. But, as so few times before, these were not tears of sadness, but tears of joy.

_Starscream._

==

This, like "Forever in my Heart" was very unexpected. I was making another AMV when the idea for this came into my head. Like "Forever in my Heart", this too has an accompanying AMV, called "Goodbye but not Gone". The lyrics are from "Its so Hard to say Goodbye to Yesterday" by Boys 2 Men.

Love it? Hate it? Be so kind as to leave a review.


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